Then Jim Rode In
by 2remember
Summary: Someone from her past has returned to haunt her, will she survive the reunion? Will he finally find love?
1. Chapter 1

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

**Author's Note:**this story takes place during 'Uncle Sam's Misguided Children."

O o O

_To Almighty Tallest Angie: I hope you enjoy it._

O o O

Jim Moralés was sitting at his desk looking over his student progress reports, making any last minute corrections before he turned them in. Mr. Delmas, Kadic Academy's Principal, had reminded him this morning that his reports were late, and he needed them by lunch time so they could complete the quarter's grading period.

Just as he completed the last report, his phone rang.

"PE, Moralés," he spoke in the phone.

"Jim, I need you to come to my office immediately," said the voice of Mr. Delmas.

"Yes, sir! I'll have those reports to you instantly sir!" Jim replied, thinking that was why the principal called.

"That's fine, Jim, but that is not why I need to see you. Please come here as quick as you can."

"Right away, sir!" Jim replied as he hung up the phone.

He quickly gathered up the progress reports and left for the Principal's Office. He was worried, however. Even though Mr. Delmas told him it wasn't about the late progress reports, Jim was afraid that it was, or something else. There were times that Jim thought that the principal didn't like him too well, and was looking for an excuse to fire him. Of course, there were times that Jim probably deserved to be fired, but the principal had stood up for him. The only thing the PE teacher could do is go to the office and take what comes.

When he got there, the secretary told him to go right in. He did, and walked right up to Mr. Delmas' desk and handed him the progress reports.

"Thank you Jim, I appreciate your efforts," Mr. Delmas said, "now please take a seat. I would like to introduce you to someone."

Jim turned around to take the proffered seat when he saw another man sitting there. In his rush to get the papers to the principal, he totally ignored the man.

"Jim, this is Master Gunnery Sargent Taylor Thompson, from the United States Embassy. Mr. Thompson, Jim Moralés, my Physical Education teacher."

The man stood up and extended his hand. Jim took it and shook it, while regarding the man. Thompson was a big man, strong from years of hard work, or so it looked. His eyes looked straight at Jim's, evaluating what he saw, but making no judgment. Though Mr. Delmas introduced him as a soldier, the man was wearing a civilian suit.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Moralés," Thompson said in passable French.

"It is alright to speak English, if that is more comfortable to you," the principal said in English, "if I remember correctly, Jim is an American himself."

"Yes sir," Jim said, "born and raised in Southern California."

"I'm from South Alabama myself," Mr. Thompson said, "so, what's a California boy doing in a French boarding school?"

"It's a long and sordid tale, I'm afraid," Jim replied, "something I wouldn't want to bore the Master Gunnery Sargent with."

"Well, maybe some other time," Thompson replied.

"Well," Mr. Delmas said, "to business. Jim, Mr. Thompson has come asking to use some of the school's facilities. Particularly the gym and the track."

"What for?" Jim asked.

"I'm sure you know what happened to two of your students a few weeks back," Thompson said.

"You mean, Jeremie Belpois and Aelita St..., I mean Hopper?" Jim replied, "yeah. Tough break. They're both too good to have fallen into something like that."

"I agree," Thompson replied, "you're aware of what's happened since then?"

"Not a lot," Jim said, "I know both of them are having problems coping with the aftermath. It's really hit Aelita hard. It was a very bad wake up call to the real world for her."

"Agreed," Mr. Delmas said, "they both have been talking to the school psychologist, but it doesn't seem to be helping. They seem fine around each other, and around their friends, but by themselves, they're a shambles."

"I'm aware of that," Mr. Thompson said, "I've had a conversation with Michael Belpois, Jeremie's father. Jeremie's beating himself up because he couldn't help Aelita and Miss Wilkerson that night, and nothing anyone else says can seem to change his mind. Anyway, Mr. Belpois asked me if I could possibly help the two kids. I agreed and had a talk with them a couple of days ago. As soon as I can get things set up, I would like to start training those two in self defense."

"Do you think that will really help?" Jim asked.

"It can help to give them a little of their self confidence back," Thompson replied, "and in Jeremie's case, maybe demonstrate to him that there was truly nothing he could have done that night."

"Why you? Why can't Jim give them the training?" Mr. Delmas asked.

"I don't know," Thompson replied then turned to Jim, "what are your qualifications?"

"I'm a black belt in karate," Jim said, "but I'm not entirely sure I could train them. It's been a while."

"My question still stands Mr. Thompson, why you?"

"Michael Belpois and I go way back. He has pulled my fat out of the fire on more than a few occasions, and I owe him big time for it. Also, it was two of my Marines that helped the kids out that night. So, in a way, I'm already involved. But if you say no, it's over. I'll find some other way."

"Jim, would you have a problem with Mr. Thompson working with Jeremie and Aelita?"

"No sir, as long as it doesn't interfere with their other studies," Jim said.

"That's another thing I wanted to bring up," Mr. Thompson said, "one of the things I told them was I would be keeping an eye on their grades, and I would stop if they started slipping. Now I'm not asking to see their records, well, not yet anyways, but I would like to know it if their academics start dropping once we start."

"I shouldn't have any trouble with that, Mr. Thompson. Why would you need to see their records, anyway?" Mr. Delmas asked.

"I'll have to run a background check on them, as well as the staff here. It won't be intrusive, but anytime Embassy personnel have to interact on a regular basis with the locals, we have to do a check for security purposes. Especially since it's Embassy Guard personnel we're talking about here. I'll also be dropping off some information on myself and the others who will probably be working with me, so you will have a feel of who is interacting with your students. And, here is the telephone number of my commanding officer, General Maxwell. If you ever have a question about any of our conduct here, feel free to contact him." With that, Mr. Thompson handed Mr. Delmas a business card, with General Maxwell's contact information on it.

"And your general is all right with you doing this?" Mr. Delmas asked,

"Yes sir, he is,' Mr. Thompson replied, "General Maxwell knows Mr. Belpois too. And as long as it doesn't interfere with my duties, he's fine with it."

"Jim, do you have any objections?" Jean-Pierre asked the gym teacher.

"No sir, not really," Jim replied, "I would like to stay informed as to what Mr. Thompson is doing with the kids, and I would like to monitor a few of their sessions. I'm a little concerned about how Jeremie is going to acclimate. He's not the most active kid in the world, from what I've seen."

"Not a problem," Mr. Thompson said, "I'll give you a call before I come by; that way you can observe us, or join us if you want. I'll also need to get with you for access to some of the school's equipment and facilities, but that can wait for another time."

"Then I think that the matter is settled," Mr. Delmas said, "Mr. Thompson, I wish you good luck with Jeremie and Aelita. They're two of our brightest students, and this episode has greatly hurt them both. I pray you can do what we haven't been able to."

"I hope so too," Mr. Thompson said as he got up to leave. Jim and Mr. Delmas also rose, shook Mr. Thompson's hand again, and the American left the office, with Jim close behind him.

Before he left, Mr. Thompson handed Jim a card. "Here's my contact information," he said, "in case you need to get in touch with me." The big man smiled and then left.

O o O

Jim was walking by the teacher's lounge after his meeting when he heard someone inside, crying softly. He looked in and saw the science teacher, Suzanne Hertz, sitting at a table, weeping.

"Suzanne, is everything okay?" he asked from the doorway. She looked up, her eyes red and puffy from the tears and replied, "don't worry, Jim. I'll be okay."

He walked in and went over to her. "Are you sure? You don't look okay to me."

"It's nothing, a personal matter," she replied. She then looked at the clock on the wall and said, "oh! I'd better get home!" She got up, went over to her locker, took off her lab coat and got her purse.

"Suzanne, if you need to talk to someone, I'd be glad to..."

"I said I'll be all right!" she shouted at the PE teacher, then ran from the lounge.

Jim stood there a moment longer, mentally kicking himself for pushing too hard, then went his way.


	2. Chapter 2

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

The day after the meeting in the principal's office, a courier from the US Embassy stopped by and dropped off some papers for Jim. When he opened them, he saw dossiers of Mr. Thompson and the people that would be helping him with Jeremie and Aelita.

The second dossier he saw made his jaw drop. Gunnery Sargent Ann Grace, it read. Expert in small arms, unarmed combat, Recon. Several awards and commendations. But it was the picture that caught Jim's eye. She had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He stared dreamily at it for a moment before setting the report aside.

Corporals William Pyle and Michael Coffy were the other two men. _These must be the two that rescued the kids,_ Jim thought to himself. Both were competent men, according to their reports, and saving Jeremie and Aelita raised Jim's opinion of them greatly. He knew a lot of soldiers that wouldn't stick their necks out for anyone, back when he was in the service, he couldn't even count on the fingers of one hand the number of men he served with that would do something as reckless and courageous as that.

_Of course, I couldn't count myself as one, either,_ he thought to himself.

Mr. Thompson included a note saying that they would have their first session with Jeremie and Aelita tomorrow at 4 pm. They wouldn't need anything other than access to the track. Jim made a mental note to watch the first session. He just had to see Belpois hustle just once.

O o O

At 4pm the next day, Jim was waiting in the courtyard of the campus when Mr. Thompson and Ms. Grace walked up. They both were dressed in casual street clothes, except for their shoes, which were athletic ones.

The PE teacher had to use all of his self control to keep his jaw from dropping. The picture of Ann Grace was one thing, her actual presence was something else altogether. She was about 5' 9", beautifully proportioned, and had red hair that framed her lovely face like an expensive wooden frame. She was well muscled, as well as well developed, from what he could tell. A small part of him wanted to find out just how well developed and muscled she was.

"Afternoon, Mr. Moralés!" Mr. Thompson called out as they walked up to him. Jim smiled and extended his hand, and they both shook it in greeting. Jim noted that Ann's handshake was as firm as Taylor's was.

"Mr. Moralés, this is my assistant, Gunnery Sargent Ann Grace," Mr. Thompson said, "Ann, this is Jim Moralés, the Physical Education teacher here.'

"Pleased to meet you," she said. Her voice was as beautiful as the rest of her. His mind wandered into a world of possibilities, with Ann Grace as the center.

"Well, Mr. Moralés, are you joining us today, or just observing?" Mr. Thompson's question brought Jim back to reality.

"Uh, just observing today," he quickly said, trying to recover, "I might join in later on, if you don't mind; and I might have some questions after you're finished. Oh, and call me Jim, Mr. Moralés is my father."

The two Marines smiled. "No problem, Jim," Mr. Thompson said, "you can call me Taylor. Ah, here come our two victims now."

As they were talking, Jeremie and Aelita walked out of the dorm and up to the group.

"Jeremie, Aelita. Come with us and we'll get started," Taylor said, "Aelita, you go with Ann, and Jeremie will come with me. Let's go."

As they paired off and started walking away, Ann turned around and said, "oh, and Jim, you'd best elevate your eyes and clear your head, okay? You keep staring at my chest and daydreaming, you might miss that bus barreling down the road at you."

O o O

Jim kept his distance and watched the training. The two Marines took the kids and led them to the track, talking all the while. When they got onto the track, they kept walking and talking, Taylor and Jeremie walking in one direction, Ann and Aelita walking in the other.

After a bit, the adults began a slow jog, all the time keeping their conversation going. The kids, now deeply engrossed in the talk and not wanting to be left out, started jogging to keep up with the adults. After a little while, the adults would speed up, just a little; and sure enough, the kids would speed up so they could keep up. Every now and then, one or the other adult would slow down a little, letting their charge slow up and catch their breath, before picking up the pace again.

Jim shook his head as he watched the show. Jeremie and Aelita were so engrossed in their conversation with the adults, he didn't think they even realized that they were being run into the ground. The PE teacher made it a note to try that technique sometime on some of his other more sedentary students.

Finally satisfied that the two newcomers weren't going to abuse his students, Jim turned and went his way. As he walked by the gates, he heard a commotion outside on the street. Some woman was cursing the mortar from the bricks over something, almost sobbing as she did. Something prompted him, and Jim went out.

Looking to where the noise was coming from, he was shocked to find Suzanne Hertz standing beside a car, hers presumably, raising a ruckus. He walked over to her.

"Suzanne, what's the problem?" he asked.

"It's my goddamned car!" she shouted back. Then she realized who she was shouting at and blushed. "I'm sorry, Jim. My car is acting up on me again. It seems over the past few days, something's always going wrong on it. Last week it was two flat tires, today it won't start. And I've got to get to the store, it's so aggravating!"

"Well, what's wrong with it?" he asked, trying to be helpful.

"I don't know, it just won't start," she replied, then added a little laugh, "I know what you're thinking, I'm the science teacher, I should know all about this kind of thing, but I don't."

"Well, let's take a look under the hood and see if anything looks out of place," Jim said. He didn't know all that much about cars himself, but sometimes a problem could be obvious. When he raised the hood, he saw he was right, the problem was obvious, not that that helped Suzanne any.

Someone had cut all of the spark plug wires to her engine.

"Suzanne, you had better take a look at this," he called. She had gotten into the car to open the hood, then stayed there in case he needed her to start the engine. She got out and joined him, then gasped when she saw the cut wires. The gasp threatened to turn into a sob. Mrs. Hertz looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

"It looks like some vandals cut your spark plug wires," he said, "c'mon, I'll take you back in and you can call he police."

"No, no, that won't be necessary," the science teacher quickly said, "I'll just call a tow truck. I've almost got their number memorized by now."

"Suzanne, what's the problem," Jim asked her point blank, "this is the second time I've seen you upset. It's not like you at all!"

"Jim, it's nothing, just a personal problem," Suzanne replied, trying to keep the pain from her face.

"It's starting to look like the kind of personal problem one reads about in the newspapers," he said, "the kind that ends with, 'police are looking for any lead and would appreciate the public's help.' You don't have to tell me, but you probably should tell someone. I'd hate it if something happened to you and I could have helped somehow."

Suzanne Hertz looked at the man standing before her. Most of the time, Jim Moralés was a braggart and a buffoon, so clueless sometimes that it was painful to watch. But in this moment, he was something else. His face showed a concern she had never seen before. It also looked like it had been a long time since he had used it; there was almost an air of unfamiliarity to it, like it had been locked away for so long, Jim almost forgot that it was there, and he had to remember how it worked.

She softened her own face, then said in a low voice, "I'm having a problem with someone, my ex-husband."


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

The tow truck driver told Suzanne that it would be at least tomorrow before her car would be fixed. She sighed, resigned to the fact that she would be without transportation again, and told the man okay. He set his towing hook on her car and hauled it away.

Jim took her to his car, and they drove to a small café. There, she drank a cup of latte and told her story.

"Clark Hertz, my ex-husband, was my high school sweetheart," Suzanne began, "I met him during my junior year and we became a serious item in my senior year. Before school, between classes and after school, the only time we weren't together was when we went to the bathroom."

"And there were a few times when we shared a bathroom," she added with a blush. She then continued, "we both graduated together and decided to go to the same college. I was going to become a teacher, no surprise, and he was going on a football(1) scholarship. We got closer and then decided to marry during our sophomore year. Things were going wonderfully, the perfect fairy tale marriage."

"Until," Jim queried.

"Until I found out that son-of-a-bitch was cheating on me!" she snapped, "oh, I'm sorry, Jim. Even after all these years, it still riles me. Anyway, I came home from class one day to find him in bed with another woman. We weren't even married a year and he was sleeping around. He was all tears and apologies, saying he gave in to temptation, and it was the first time and please would I forgive him? Stupid me, I believed him and forgave him. What I didn't know at the time was it wasn't his first time, he had been sleeping with other women since I met him! And he didn't stop either, he just became more adept at hiding it. We went on like that for ten years, Jim, ten years! Then, five years ago, this woman calls me, one of his other women. She told me that they had been together for eight years and he was going to leave me for her! Then she said, that she wouldn't begrudge him his other girlfriends, that she actually liked sharing him! She actually _watched_ him when he was with his other women! She even said she had seen him with me, and didn't like that I didn't please him like he wanted and needed. She told me to get out of his life and let real women provide for him!"

"Damn, Suzanne, that's cold," Jim said, "what happened next?"

"What else," she replied, "I divorced him. It didn't take much for the judge to award me a substantial alimony payment from him, but he never paid up. I never really pushed it, having rid myself of him was payment enough. I moved out, came here, and thought if was over, until a few weeks ago."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. A few weeks ago, he called me and started spouting off obscenities, saying it was my fault, and I would pay for what I did. He would keep calling, keep harassing me, sometimes multiple times in the night. Then, strange things started happening. Things started disappearing from my apartment. I would come home and find things broken, things that absolutely couldn't have fallen down. And then the problems with the car started. That day you first asked me what was wrong, he had called and said that the vandalism was only the beginning, that he was going to soon make me pay for what I did to him."

"Maybe I missed something," Jim said, "but from what you've told me, you haven't done anything to him, if anything, you probably should be the one terrorizing him!"

That remark got him a small smile from Suzanne.

"And that's what has me so confused," she said, "I can't think of any reason for this, and it's starting to really frighten me now. Threatening phone calls were bad enough, but damaging my car?"

"Look, you should probably call the police," Jim said, "whatever the reason behind it, it's dangerous. This is really starting to look like one of those stories that end with 'police have no leads on the whereabouts of the murderer.'" Then, changing the subject, he said, "look, your car is in the shop; how about I take you home, then come by in the morning and pick you up?"

"Alright, I'd appreciate that," she replied.

They finished their coffees and left. Suzanne had Jim stop by the grocery store, where she picked up the few things she needed to get. He drove her home, to a nice quiet neighborhood. The apartment building she lived in was older, but well kept. After parking, he got out, ran around and opened the door for her. She smiled as she got out, thankful for a small courtesy she hadn't received in ages.

"Would you like me to walk you to your door?" he asked.

"No, I should be alright," she replied, "Jim, thanks for listening to me. You're right, I need to talk to someone about Clark, and I think I will in the morning."

"When would you like me to pick you up?"

"About six, I have some things to go over before classes start tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll be here."

Jim turned to leave when Suzanne suddenly reached out, stopped him, then kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for listening, you really helped me," she said before turning and almost running into the building.

Jim stood there, dumbfounded. There had always been something that attracted him to Suzanne Hertz, but he never could work the courage up to ask her anything. Even though he knew she was nothing like the image she projected to her students, that image intimidated him. But now...

He was pulled from his reverie by a woman's scream, coming from inside Suzanne's building. He ran inside, only to nearly collide with her.

"Jim! My apartment!" she nearly sobbed. She had grabbed him and clutched herself to him as if he were her only salvation in life. He instinctively put an arm around her and asked, "what's wrong?"

"He, he, broke into my apartment again," she said, starting to cry freely now.

Taking the frightened woman, he went back to her apartment. The door was wide open from when she unlocked it to go inside, and the groceries she had bought were lying on the floor right on the threshold. He could see clearly inside, and was shocked by what he saw.

The entire room had been demolished.

All of her furniture was in pieces, cushions torn up and the stuffing strewn all around. Papers, books and magazines where shredded and scattered about.

"Do you have your cell phone?" he asked. When she nodded in the affirmative, he said, "call the police. Your ex isn't fooling around any more."

As Suzanne got out her cell and called the police, Jim carefully entered her apartment. The first room was the living room. Off to Jim's left was a small hallway that led to the rest of the apartment. The next room was a kitchenette. It too had been utterly destroyed. Dishes broken, food scattered all over the place, appliances ruined.

Moving back, Jim saw a closed door he assumed was the bathroom. Moving further back, he came to Suzanne's bedroom, ruined like the rest of the apartment.

He felt something behind him, and quickly turned to see that Suzanne had followed him. "Suzanne, you should stay outside!" he said.

"So should you," she replied, "the police said they would be her in ten minutes and not to disturb anything.'

"Yeah," he said, then pointed for her to go back the way she came and started out himself. Suzanne stopped at the closed door and opened it, turned on a light and screamed. Jim quickly joined her, and saw what set her off.

The bathroom seemed bathed in blood. On the mirror, the vandal had written:

_You have ripped out my heart, and soon I shall rip out yours_

In the sink, there was a red lump of something. Both adults looked closer. Suzanne suddenly choked and bolted from the apartment. Jim kept looking at the lump, not able to figure out what it was. Then the scales were lifted from his eyes, and he realized what it was.

It was a small heart.

**Footnote: **

(1) a.k.a. soccer, remember, this _is_ France.


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

The police had arrived when Jim left the apartment. Suzanne was on her hands and knees next to her door, throwing up what she had eaten and drank earlier. By the time he got there, she was down to dry heaves.

The police came moments later and took down Suzanne's statement, then questioned Jim. He told them what had happened, then showed them the apartment. The officer, Detective Michelette, asked him if he had touched anything and Jim replied probably. The detective then said they would need his finger and hand prints so they could eliminate him when they dusted the scene.

It was late in the evening when the police finally finished with the couple. They told Suzanne that she couldn't stay there for a while, and let her get some clothes for the next few days. It took a while, because the vandal had ruined a lot of her wardrobe, but she did find enough for three days.

As they stood out in the parking lot, Suzanne said, "I don't know where I'm going to stay."

"Stay at the school," Jim said, "there's some empty rooms on the girl's dorm level. It'll be fine, Suzanne, don't you worry."

She gave him a small smile and they got in his car and drove back to Kadic Academy.

O o O

Jim was sitting in his office the next day when there was a soft knock at his door. He looked up and saw Suzanne standing there.

"Hi, come on in!"

She came in and sat down.

"I wanted to thank you for last night," she began, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there."

"It was nothing," he replied, "but, one thing I was wondering about, if you can talk about it. That thing in he sink, where did it come from."

She got a queasy sad look on her face, then replied, "my cat, Buttons." Tears began to stream from her eyes.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry," Jim said and got up and went around to her, "I didn't know."

She took his hand and squeezed it for a moment, then settled down. "I know. I've never been too open with my life outside of school. You're the first person I've opened up to in a long time, Jim."

He smiled. "Maybe it's the start of a new trend. Hey, you want to see Hell freeze over?"

The look on her face told him she didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.

"Cmon, it's about 4 o'clock, they ought to be getting started."

The two teachers left Jim's office and walked out to the track. There, Taylor Thompson, Ann Grace, Jeremie and Aelita were beginning today's training session. The adults were leading the kids around the track at a walk, talking the whole time. Then, after a bit, they started jogging, still keeping the conversation up.

"You know, I never thought I would see the day that Jeremie Belpois would hustle like that," Jim said.

Suzanne stood there and watched, not quite as impressed as Jim was. "I don't understand," was all she said.

"Well, I've always been a little concerned about Belpois," Jim said, "he's never been that physically active, and he hardly gets any sleep. He's up almost all nights working on that computer of his. I've been really concerned about his health, but haven't been able to do much about it. Then he gets mugged."

"This is related to that?"

"Yeah. You know that it hit them both pretty hard, and they haven't been coping with it very well. Well, Jeremie's dad arranged this to help the kids out. If I'm guessing correctly, those two will run the kids for a few days, to gauge their fitness and build their stamina up, then they'll move on to what they really want to teach, self defense."

"Do you think that it will work?"

"I hope so. I don't know if you've seen how Aelita acts when she's not around Jeremie or her other friends, but she's almost terrified of everything."

"I can understand how she feels," Suzanne said.

O o O

When she got back to the dorm room she was staying in, she saw a package leaning up against the door. Curious, she picked it up and took it inside with her. She slipped off her lab coat and shucked off her shoes, relaxing from the long day, then went over to the desk and sat down. She turned the package around and over, examining it. It wasn't sent by mail, or by any delivery service. The only markings she could find was, "To Suzanne Hertz, Kadic Academy" written on the top. She tore into the wrapping.

The box beneath the wrapping was a lidded box, with the lid taped shut. She broke the tape and opened the lid. Inside the box was what looked like wadded up cotton. She pulled the wadding out of the box, and finally came to a package, about the size of a baseball, which was wrapped in the same wrapping paper as the package. She took the small package and unwrapped it. Once it was unwrapped and she could see what it was, Suzanne dropped the thing, jumped up from her chair and backed away, screaming. When her back touched the door, she spun around, opened it and ran into the hallway to Jim's room.

"OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod" was all she screamed the entire way.

O o O

Suzanne was still sobbing hysterically an hour later when the police arrived. By that time, students had gathered around the dorm room, wondering what was going on. Jim and Mr. Delmas ordered all of the students back to their dorms and remain there for the rest of the evening. When Jim wasn't herding the kids off, he was standing next to Suzanne, holding her and trying to give her some comfort.

Detective Michelette entered the dorm room and walked over to the desk. The box was still sitting there, with the object it contained laying open within it. The detective took a look for a moment, then shook his head.

The object that had frightened Mrs. Hertz was a severed cat's head. It's eyes were still wide open, along with it's mouth, the tongue lolling to one side. The detective also noted something else. On the bottom of the box, written in what looked like blood was the message:

_You're Next_

The detective bagged the head, it's wrapping paper, the box, the cotton fill, the box and it's wrapping paper into plastic evidence bags, then had an officer remove them. He then walked out and over to Suzanne.

"I take it that you recognized the contents," Detective Michelette said. Suzanne said nothing, she just nodded yes.

Turning to Mr. Delmas, the detective asked, "do you know how this got here?"

"From what my secretary said, it was hand delivered late this afternoon," the principal replied, "we assumed that Suzanne knew what it was and was expecting it, so I brought it over here."

"I see," he said, "Mrs. Hertz, this is looking worse and worse. He starts out verbally abusing you, then he proceeds to minor vandalism, moves on to major vandalism, then killing animals. It looks like he's working up to you. For your own safety, I would like to place you in protective custody. We would move you somewhere away from here until we caught your husband."

"And can you absolutely guarantee my safety?" Suzanne asked, "no, I would rather be here than trapped in some cage, no matter how nice you could make it."

"As you wish," Michelette replied, sighing, "what ever you do, be careful. Don't go anywhere alone, and don't open any package you may get. The next one may have something more explosive than the head of a beloved pet."

With that, the detective and the other officers took their leave.

"What do you want to do," Mr. Delmas asked her, "I'll do anything within my power to help you."

"I don't know, Jean-Pierre, I just don't know," Suzanne replied, "all I know at the moment is I am not sleeping in that room!"

"There's not really anywhere else available," Jim said, "all of the other open dorms are under renovation; we can't put you in one of those."

"Ah, daddy," came a girl's voice from across the hall. The adults turned and saw that one of the dorm rooms was open just enough to frame the face of principal's daughter, Sissi.

"We could, like, let Mrs. Hertz stay with us tonight," she said.

"No, I couldn't," Suzanne said.

"No, thank you, Sissi," her father said, "I appreciate your offer, but it's against regulations for adults to be sleeping in the same room as the students. We'll just have to find something else."

"She could sleep in my room," Jim said, "I could bunk in my workout room."

"No, Jim, that wouldn't work," Mr. Delmas said, "your room is the only apartment in the building, and it's in the basement. There are no other dorm rooms down there, so that would leave Suzanne alone. You would be over in the gymnasium and too far away if something should happen. No, we'll just have to think of something else."

The adults turned to leave. Jim offered to take Suzanne someplace to get something to eat and just get away from the school for a while. As they got to the stairwell doors, they were met by three more students, Jeremie Belpois, Odd Della Robbia and Ulrich Stern.

"What are you boys doing on the girls dorm level," Jim snapped, harsher than he wanted to, "the excitement's over for the evening; get back to your rooms before you wind up in detention."

"Jim, we want to help," Ulrich said, "I know someplace where Mrs. Hertz can stay, for the night anyway."

"Where?"

"Yumi's house," was the brunette's reply, "when you turned down Sissi's offer, she called Odd, who told me. I called Yumi and had her ask her parents if Mrs. Hertz could stay there. She did and they agreed."

"That's very nice, Ulrich," Suzanne said, "but how do I know that it will be alright?"

"Would my word suffice?" came a new voice.

Behind the boys, coming up the stairs, were Yumi's parents, with Yumi and a young boy trailing behind.

"Yumi has told me about what was happening to you, Mrs. Hertz," Mr. Ishiyama said, "and I will not turn down another in need if I can help. You are welcome to stay with us as long as you need to."

"I, I don't know what to say," Suzanne said.

"Yes will be sufficient," Mrs. Ishiyama piped in, "look at it this way, in return for room and board, you can fill us in on just how Yumi is _really_ doing in school."

Suzanne Hertz smiled, the first one since she picked up that package.

"I would be more than happy to."


	5. Chapter 5

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

Suzanne ended up staying with the Ishiyamas for two days. She really felt uncomfortable staying there, since Yumi was a student, but the family was very accommodating.

On the third day, she decided to return to the dorms, the stigma of the package having dulled enough that she thought she could handle sleeping there. She thanked Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama for their kindness and hospitality and returned.

Things seemed to settle down after that. Suzanne didn't receive any new surprises, and Clark didn't try to call her. The police told her that they were done with her apartment, so she could return there if she wanted to. Her landlord told her that little damage was done to the apartment itself, so all she had to do was clean it up and everything would be fine. Her renters insurance covered the damage done, so all she had to do was go and replace what was destroyed.

Then the garage called and said her car was finished and she could pick it up at any time. That afternoon after classes, Jim drove her over and she picked it up. Jim said he would go with her back to the apartment, just in case, and help her start cleaning things up.

When she returned to her apartment, she almost cried in despair at the enormity of the cleanup ahead of her. Jim surveyed the mess and declared, "yeah, it's gonna be a bitch to do, but it won't take too long."

With that, he walked into the apartment, went back to the kitchen, rummaged around a bit, then came back with trash bags.

"So, where do we start, living room, kitchen, bathroom or bedroom?"

Suzanne just stared at the man.

"C'mon, Suzanne, which is it? It'll take you forever and a day to get rid of this all by yourself, with the two of us, it'll only take forever." He smiled at that last phrase.

She smiled and shook her head. "The kitchen will be a good place to start. I can smell it from the hallway."

The couple spent the next week clearing out the wreckage that was done. When she first thought of her and Jim as a _couple_, it shocked Suzanne to her core. After she divorced Clark, she never really considered finding another man, and even if she had, Jim Moralés would not have been on the list. A lot of the times he was a jock in the truest sense of the word. But something happened since this whole mess with her ex started. She started seeing another side of Jim, one she hadn't seen before, one he probably hadn't let anyone see for a long time.

He was actually a caring man. He cared about how she felt, what she thought. Another man would have just started picking things up and throwing them out when confronted with the mess that was her apartment. But he only picked up clearly identifiable trash and junk and bagged it. If he wasn't sure about something, he would ask her. If she looked like she was going to do something that would hurt her, he would stop what he was doing and help, or at least offer to. After the second time almost breaking her neck, she gladly accepted his assistance.

They would come to her apartment after the school day was over and clean. In the late evening, they would go to the café where he first took her and have a small meal. They would talk and laugh about he happenings of the day. Sometimes, they would gossip about the other teachers, or tell stories about their past. And Suzanne had to fight to keep her self control.

She had to fight not to reach out and take his hand as they sat at the table eating in the evenings. She had to fight not to walk too close to him as they left the school in the afternoons. She had to fight not to slip her arm around him and pull him close whenever they were standing together. She had to fight not to take him in her arms and lose herself in him forever.

_No,_ she thought to herself, _it's not love. It's nothing, infatuation, a crush. Stockholm Syndrome, I don't know! I'm feeling this way because Jim is being kind to me when I'm going through a hard time. I can't love him!_

_You're afraid,_ came another voice inside of her, _you're afraid he will be just like Clark was, stringing you along while he chases every skirt he sees, then dumping you in the toilet when he tires of you._

_Yes, I am afraid,_ she replied, _I'm afraid if I let myself go, I'll lose myself in him, and never find my way back._

_And, would that be such a bad thing?_ the voice asked.

_I don't know,_ she replied, _and that's what frightens me the most._

O o O

The other event that was creating a buzz at the school was the upcoming Autumn Harvest Dance. It was the first major social event of the school year. All the girls in the school were chattering about what they would wear and who they would be going with, or wish they were going with. The boys tried acting like they didn't care a whit about going with a girl, while secretly dying by inches working up the courage to ask the object of their affections out.

Jim and Suzanne, along with most of the other teachers, worked to coordinate the logistics of the dance. One of the first things they did was secure Aelita Hopper as the entertainment for the evening. She was very good at mixing the techno-pop music that the kids nowadays seemed to like so much, and she created quite a splash at a dance last year, so she was a safe bet. Besides, she worked for free.

The planning and preparations for the dance cut into the time Jim and Suzanne had for cleaning her apartment. But they had progressed enough so she could live at home once again. Their cleaning and renovation 'dates' were kept primarily to the weekends.

O o O

On the Saturday before the dance, they finally cleared out all of the mess that was in her apartment. It was now bare, other than some small lamps purchased at a sporting goods store, and a mattress.

They sat on the floor in the living room that evening, bathed in the light of a small camping lantern. Suzanne had run out to the store and bought dinner fixings. They now sat in the middle of the floor, eating and relaxing.

"I though we'd never finish," she said to him.

"I had my doubts for a while too," he said with a laugh, "but I knew we'd get it done. Even I know trash doesn't breed."

She gave him a little laugh that ended in a coy and shy smile. "Jim, I want to thank you for all you've done."

"Don't mention it, Suzanne, it was my pleasure," he replied.

"It's just that I... it's just that... it's just..." She paused for a moment, then said, "it's just that it's been a long time since I had to depend on anyone for help, especially a man."

She was silent for a moment, a battle raging deep inside of her. Then, the battle ended. She looked at him, then leaned forward and kissed him full on the lips.

Jim was shocked, and tried to pull back, but only for an instant. Then another part of his mind took over and he leaned into her and returned the embrace. While one of her hands was flat on the floor, arm holding her weight, she took her other hand and cupped his cheek, softly caressing his stubble. He also took a free hand, wrapped it around her as much as he could, and pulled her closer. She complied, scooting forward and wrapping both arms around him as he wrapped his around her. All the while, their lips were locked in embrace, their minds lost in the moment of ignited passion.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jim broke their embrace. He pushed her back enough to look at the love radiating from her. His mind warred with the rest of him, but he finally let her go and got up.

"Ah, look, I need to go," he said.

"Jim, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," Suzanne quickly said, "I don't know what came over me. Please don't be mad."

"I'm not Suzanne, really," he told her, "truth be told, I've wanted to do that for the longest time now, longer than this whole ex-husband incident."

"Then what's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't want this to move too fast," he said, "if I do, if we do, I'm afraid I'll hurt you, and I don't want that to happen. I've wanted this for too long to blow it now."

"Wanted what?"

"You. I've been smitten by you for a while now. And now that my dreams have come true, I don't want to ruin it by blundering ahead."

"And what makes you think that _you_ are rushing things?"

"The little voice in my head that is telling me to keep going, to do more. The little voice in my head that's gotten me into more trouble than I care to think about. Look, it's late, and maybe the wine got to me a little, but I think I need to go home and clear my head. We can meet for lunch tomorrow, it being Sunday, and maybe do something together. I'd really like that if you would."

"I'd love to Jim," she softly said.

"Alright, how 'bout noon tomorrow at the school?"

She nodded yes.

"Great! Well, I'd better be going. I really need a cold shower before I hit the sack."


	6. Chapter 6

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

The bell rang, and the students fled the room. Suzanne watched the stampede with a chuckle. It was the last class period of the day, Tuesday, and all the kids wanted to get on with the important things in life. With the dance coming up this Saturday, that meant gabbing about who's taking who, who's wearing what, and who's jealous about it.

She gathered her papers up and sighed. For the first time in a long time, she really emphasized with her students. The last thing she wanted today was to be cooped up in a stuffy classroom. She smiled and sighed wistfully and walked to the teacher's lounge.

She did meet Jim for lunch on Sunday. She had dressed in just slacks and a shirt that day, expecting a casual day out like they had done before Saturday evening. But when she saw him, she had to suppress a laugh. He was dressed in a suit that probably hadn't been out of his closet in years! She shook her head as she walked up to him, stood up on her toes to kiss him, then told him to go change into something more comfortable. When he returned a few minutes later and more suitably attired, they left and had a wonderful time.

Suzanne hadn't felt this way since high school, the heady intoxication of new love. After her disastrous marriage to Clark, she firmly closed off that part of her life, not wanting to be hurt so badly again. For a while, she looked longingly at other couples, coming together and falling in love, watching that love grow into marriage, then children, but after a while, she was able to observe dispassionately. She thought she had made quite an accomplishment, not getting entangled with another person, not having to risk the emotional pain when the entanglement finally turned into a stranglehold.

Then Clark reappeared in her life, throwing it into an uproar. All of the careful defenses and walls she had put up over the years were shattered in a heartbeat by naked fear. And then Jim rode in.

She had always known about Jim's crush on her. She had always thought it cute, in a detached kind of way, that a man his age could still feel puppy love. Now, here she was, feeling the exact same way. Suzanne still wasn't sure what would have happened Saturday night if Jim hadn't stopped. The part of her that still wanted to be detached and self-sufficient shuddered at the thought of waking up with a man beside her. Then there was the part of her that sorely wanted to drag his carcass home and polish the carpet with his back.

She was ultimately glad Jim backed off on Saturday. She, like him, wanted to take it slow, so she could reconcile all of the feelings inside her. There was no guarantee that things could really work out between the two, and she didn't want to get hurt nor lose a good friend if things went sour.

She had just walked into the teacher's lounge and set her things on the table when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"You don't really think I've forgotten about you, hmm?" came the voice of Clark Hertz.

O o O

Emily LeDuc was sitting on a bench near the park, waiting for her friends to arrive. She just couldn't wait to tell them what she was going to wear to the party on Saturday. Also, she had talked her parents into letting her and her friends and their dates spend the night at her house! It was going to be so much fun! And it sure would be good to see her family again...

Suddenly, an arm snaked around Emily's throat and constricted, She tried to cry out, but couldn't. Who ever it was increased the pressure and the world started going gray on her. The person then dragged her back over the bench, and into the woods behind her.

As she passed out, she heard a man say, "bait for the hook."

O o O

Aelita Hopper sat in her room and daydreamed. She wasn't in her dorm room though, she was in her old bedroom at the Hermitage.

When she was brought to earth from Lyoko last year, fragments of memories started filtering back in to her mind, in the form of nightmares. Those nightmares first led her and the gang to this house, the house she and her father lived in before they entered Lyoko. Last summer, when she finally got back all of her memories, she remembered enough of her life here that she knew the room was hers.

Before last summer, she sometimes came to the Hermitage to try and remember more about her past. Since the summer, she came, not only to remember the past, but to dream about the future, the one with her and Jeremie in the center.

She was shaken from her dreams by the sound of the front door crashing open. She got up and walked to the stairway, starting to go downstairs, when she stopped. She heard the sound of a man, muttering to himself, seemingly dragging something. She didn't recognize the voice, so she hung back. The sound receded, and the pink haired girl carefully went downstairs to see what was going on.

When she got to the landing, she didn't see anyone there, but heard something back in the family room. She carefully finished her descent, then quietly crept back to the room where the noise was coming from. When she got to the doorway, she carefully peeked around.

There, in the middle of the room, was a strange man with his back to the doorway. He was bent over a bundle of some kind, working. After a moment, he moved, revealing what he was working on. Aelita almost gasped out loud when she saw the unconscious form of Emily LeDuc lying on the floor. She had lost her glasses before being brought here, and her hands were bound with what looked like wire. The man, in the meantime, was busy working on the room. He found an old chair and was using it as a step stool. He was putting what seemed like an eye bolt into the ceiling. When he finished, he got more wire, threaded it through the eye bolt, and secured it somewhere out of Aelita's sight. He then bent back over Emily and slapped her.

She awoke with a cry, then tried to scream when she saw the man, but he clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Quiet now," he told her, "it's not your time to sing yet. Don't make me hurt you before it's time; I'll be really upset if I have to start before I'm ready."

Emily's eyes got wide, and she remained silent.

The man let go of her and pulled out a cell phone. He dialed a number and waited. Finally when his call was answered, he said, "you don't really think I've forgotten about you, hmm?"

O o O

Suzanne was in shock.

"Clark, what do you want from me?" she said to her ex.

"I want to hear you scream like you never did when we made love," he replied, "I want to hear the anguish and regret in your voice as I rip your traitorous heart from your chest! I want you to beg, grovel, that I end it quickly, and I want to look into your lying eyes as they go cold. That is what I want, Suzanne; and you will give it to me, every ounce!"

"You're mad, Clark! What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"YOU LEFT ME!" he screamed, "you left me, just because of a few lapses in resolve. You never gave me a chance to repent and prove myself to you! I have spent years trying to make myself worthy of you again. All the other girls, they're gone, no more. I went back, tracked each one down, and made them pay for what they made me do. And when I finally found the last one, I called you, asking for forgiveness, to come back to you. And you said NO!"

"What do you mean, 'made them pay'?"

"I have their lying eyes and tongues here, waiting for you. They are the tokens of my remorse. Accept them, take me back, and this will all stop."

It was all Suzanne could do to stay upright. _He killed them?_

"Clark, I don't know what to say. We have so many differences and issues to work through, I'm not even sure counseling would help."

"Counseling! Psychiatrists! Witch Doctors, with their questions and drugs and probes and knives! They've done nothing but try and stop me! And now they have gotten to you! So it has to be _this_ way now, I see. You will come to me, now. I am in an abandoned house on the other side of the park next to the school, called the Hermitage. Come quickly and face your judgment! Come quickly, and alone, or another will take your place!"

There was a moment of silence, then a new voice came over the cell phone.

"Mrs. Hertz? He's got me tied up, and he says he's going to kill me if you don't come alone!"

"Emily? Emily LeDuc?" she frantically asked.

"YES!" she shrieked. Then Clark's voice returned.

"Come quickly, and come alone, or I will have more eyes and another tongue to add to my collection."

O o O

Aelita didn't know what to do. She heard the conversation the man had with someone on the phone, and she was scared to death. Up to now, she had thought that demons only existed in ones dreams, yet here stood one, or the closest thing she had ever seen. The man finally took his head away from the phone, whispered something to Emily, and shoved the phone in her face.

"Mrs. Hertz? He's got me tied up, and he says he's going to kill me if you don't come alone!" she said into the phone, almost sobbing.

As soon as she said that, the man grabbed her hands by the wire that bound her and lifted up. Her wrists had swollen in the time she had been bound, and there were little drops of blood around the wire. When he applied pressure to the wrists, she cried out her last answer, "YES!"

The man eased the pressure on Emily's wrists, said one more thing into the phone, and ended the call.

Aelita carefully crept back the way she came. When she got to the stairs, she hunkered down so she wouldn't be seen from the hallway, and took out her cell phone and dialed.

"Jeremie, it's Aelita," she whispered, "I'm at the Hermitage. Some man has kidnapped Emily and is threatening to kill her unless Mrs. Hertz comes here alone."


	7. Chapter 7

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

Jeremie Belpois was just about to close the gym locker when he heard his cell phone ring. Today was the second self defense session he and Aelita was having with Master Gunnery Sargent Thompson and Gunnery Sargent Grace, and he, at least, wasn't looking forward to it. He was still sore from the last session, last Friday.

I reopened the locker and got out his cell phone, grateful for the delay.

"Hello? This is Jeremie."

"Jeremie, it's Aelita," Aelita whispered over the phone, "I'm at the Hermitage. Some man has kidnapped Emily and is threatening to kill her unless Mrs. Hertz comes here alone."

"What are you doing there, get out!" he said, trying not to holler, trying to keep the fear from his voice.

"I'm afraid to," she replied, "I'm afraid if he knows someone else is here, he might hurt Emily."

"Look," the genius said, "get somewhere safe, the basement maybe. Yeah, by the door down there. Try and sneak out."

"He could hear me," she said, "I don't want to be the cause of Emily getting hurt!"

"Aelita, I don't want _you_ getting hurt again," Jeremie said, keeping the rising fear out of his voice, "I'd die if something happened to you."

"And I couldn't live with myself if something happened to Emily," Aelita said, "I'm going back up to my room. Get help Jeremie; quickly, get help."

"Okay," he finally said, "put your phone on vibrate, that way, he won't hear you when I call back."

"Done. Now go get help," Aelita said, "hurry, Jeremie. I love you."

"I love you too," he said as the call ended.

He ran from the locker room into the gym. There, he saw Taylor Thompson and Ann Grace talking with Jim.

"Help! Someone's kidnapped Emily LeDuc and is forcing Mrs. Hertz to come get her!"

"What did you say?" Jim fairly well shouted.

"I just got a call from Aelita. She's over at a house on the other side of the park, the Hermitage. She heard this man drag Emily LeDuc inside, then call Mrs. Hertz and threaten to kill Emily if she didn't come over right now."

"There's about a million questions I want to ask right now," Master Gunnery Sargent Thompson said, "but they'll have to wait. Jim, you should probably try and stop Mrs. Hertz from going over there. Do you know the name of the cop involved with her case?'

"Yeah, Detective Michellete," Jim replied as he ran off.

"Okay, Jeremie, go back to your dorm, class is over for the day," the big American said, "Ann, you call the principal, so he knows what's going on. I'll call this Detective Michellete and get him over here."

"Are we doing anything else?" the woman asked.

"Speaking as your commanding NCO, the answer is no; we are not to get involved in local matters," Thompson said, then added with a grin, "but speaking for myself, hell yes we going to be doing something else. After you talk to the principal, get over to the Hermitage and put eyes on the situation and let me know what's going on. Jeremie, why are you still standing here? Get outta here, and stay out of this!"

As Jeremie turned to leave, he said to himself, "I'll stay just as far out of it as you will, Master Guns."

O o O

Jim caught up to Suzanne just as she was entering the park.

"Suzie! Wait!" he hollered.

"Jim, I can't stop now, I really have to be somewhere," she said as she kept walking.

"I know all about it! About Clark, Emily and the Hermitage! You can't go, you'll be killed!"

"And so will Emily if I don't!" she snapped, "maybe if I go to him, he'll let her go."

Jim grabbed the science teacher and spun her around.

"More than likely, he'll kill you both; maybe make you watch while he does Emily," Jim said, "Suzanne, I don't want to lose you, now that I've found you, but that's exactly what's going to happen if you go. Look, Aelita Hopper is in that house too. She heard your ex drag Emily in, and heard your phone conversation with him. She called Jeremie, who told me and his two Marine buddies. They're calling the police right now. Please, for the love of God, don't go!"

"I have to, Jim," she told him, "as much as I know everything you said is true, I have to go."

"Then I'm going with you."

"No! He said come alone!"

"I may not walk in the front door with you, but I'm going in with you."

O o O

As Jeremie ran to the boiler room, he called Ulrich.

"Ulrich, we've got a problem! Some nut job kidnapped Emily and is forcing Mrs. Hertz to come get her!" he almost hollered in the phone.

Ulrich replied, "I don't want to sound like a jerk, but so what?"

"He's over at the Hermitage," Jeremie said, "and Aelita's there, she's the one who tipped me off. Look, I need you and Odd to get over there now. Keep an eye on things and let me know what's going on."

"What are you going to be doing in the meantime?" Ulrich asked.

"I'm heading for the sewers," the genius replied, "I'm going to hide our skateboards and stuff, then I'm going to the factory. I've got a bad feeling we're gonna have company in the sewers today, and I'm heading for the factory just in case."

"Just in case what?"

"Just in case we have to do a Return To The Past to keep someone from dying."

O o O

Detective Michellete arrived at Kadic Academy, along with a squad of uniformed officers. He was greeted at the gate by Taylor Thompson.

"I take it you are Michellete," Thompson said, 'I'm Taylor Thompson, the one who called you.'

"Pleased to meet you," the detective said, shaking the Marine's hand, "might I ask how you got involved in this?"

"Purely by chance," Thompson replied, "I'm here with an associate of mine doing some special counseling work with a couple of the students here. Fifteen minutes ago, one of them runs up and tells me that some guy has another student held at a place called the Hermitage, and a Mrs. Hertz had to go there. Now, I don't know all the details, but I've been around here enough recently to know that Mrs. Hertz is having some kind of problem that the police are involved in. Mr. Moralés, a friend of Mrs. Hertz's gave me your name to call before he ran off after her."

"God, this is going to be a mess," the detective said. Then he turned to one of his officers and said, "locate the principal and have him sequester all of the students to the campus. The rest of you, block off the road leading to the Hermitage. Don't make your presence known to anyone that may be inside. Secure the perimeter and wait for further orders."

The other police officers nodded their acknowledgment and set off.

"Detective," Thompson said, "speaking strictly for myself and my associate, with absolutely no obligations being implied by the United States or it's Embassy in France, if we could provide you with any assistance, we'd be more than glad to."

"Let me guess, your friend has already gone to the Hermitage," Mitchellete said with a sigh, "he's going to rush in and save the day, eh?"

"No, she's got a hair's breadth more sense than that," the big American replied, "but she is taking a look around, trying to determine the layout of the situation. She's a good Marine; came up through Recon, so she knows how to sneak 'n peek."

"Well, for now it seems like I don't have any choice," Michellete said, "when you next speak to her, tell her to stay out of sight. The man we are dealing with her is a psychopath, who has already brutally murdered several women. It looks like Mrs. Hertz is to be his next victim, and maybe his ultimate one."

O o O

Jeremie had just finished hiding that last scooter when Jim found him.

"Jeremie! Why am I not surprised?" he said.

Jeremie whirled around to see the PE teacher standing before him, fists firmly planted on his hips.

"I thought you were told to go back to your room," Jim said, "what are you doing down here?"

"You mean this isn't my room?" Jeremie replied, trying levity. Jim just cocked his head.

"C'mon, Belpois, you can do better than that," Jim said, "look, Suzanne is walking into that place right now, and I have to help her somehow. I know that the sewers run close to that house, but I can't seem to find the access point."

"Ah, I happen to know where it is," Jeremie said, "me and my friends mess around down here sometimes, and we came across it one day. I could show you if you want."

"Okay," Jim said, "and if we get out of this with our skins intact, none of this ever happened, see?"

"None of what?" Jeremie said, "I don't know about you, but I'm in my dorm room working on my computer."

Jim smiled and the two set off.

Jeremie led Jim through the maze of the sewers until they came to the access point beside the Hermitage. He cracked the door open and let Jim peer out.

"That door over there leads to the basement," Jeremie said, "you can take the stairs up to the main floor or the upstairs from there. Oh, and set your cell phone to vibrate so you don't alarm anyone. And if you see Aelita, tell her to get out. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"For the first time in years, I understand how you feel," Jim said as he ran for the basement door.

After seeing Jim duck inside, Jeremie turned and ran for the factory, praying he didn't need to; praying if he needed to, that it wasn't too late.


	8. Chapter 8

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

Suzanne Hertz stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door of the Hermitage. She dreaded every step, like a condemned man must as he walked to his execution.

_Oh God, help me in my final hour_, she silently prayed, _let Emily be safe. Let this nightmare be over and done!_

She walked up the steps and went inside.

O o O

After ending the call to Suzanne, Clark Hertz began his final preparations. He made Emily stand up, then slipped on a noose he had fashioned from the dangling end of the wire he had strung up. He tightened it around her neck, taking care that her hair wasn't blocking or hindering the wire's access to her skin. He then went to the other end of the wire and drew it taut.

The instant Emily felt the wire bite in and strangle, she lifted up on her toes. He didn't stop until she was supporting herself totally on the toes of her shoes. She sputtered and tried to cry, but the noose wouldn't allow a sound out. She stood there, on her tip toes, fighting to stay conscious, for if she passed out, she was dead.

Satisfied with his work, Clark went back over to the girl, picking up a box cutter as he did. He faced Emily, and looked at her like she was some kind of strange new creature. He then took the box cutter and cut into her shirt.

She tried to scream, but the noose prevented it. Clark kept cutting, starting at the top of her collar, cutting down until he reached the tail. He had to pull her shirt out of her pants in order to do what he did. Next, he did another cut, only of the shirt; careful not to slice into anything else. He did this repeatedly, cutting the front of her shirt to shreds, all the while looking like he was examining a frog he was dissecting.

When he finally rendered her shirt into tatters, he started on the camisole she was wearing under it. Once again, he cut from top to bottom, taking care not to touch the bare skin underneath. Soon, the camisole was history. Clark looked at the skin now exposed. Emily's eyes bugged out as she realized that he wasn't going to stop at just her clothes.

Clark Hertz poised the box cutter at Emily's collarbone. The girl struggled helplessly, tears freely flowing down her face, trying to squeak out some plea for mercy. Just as he was about to press the blade in, he heard a voice behind him.

"Clark, leave her alone. I'm here now, just as you asked. You don't have to do that, let her go."

Clark turned to see his ex-wife, Suzanne, standing in the doorway.

O o O

Ulrich and Odd made it to the Hermitage without being seen by anybody. They carefully circled around to the side where the family room was. Ulrich began to inch his way towards the window, Odd closely behind him. As he got closer, he saw a man inside, doing something to Emily. She was struggling against something, something Ulrich couldn't quite make out. He was just about to move up to the window and peer in, when something grabbed him from behind.

He struggled, trying every choke break he could think of, but to no avail. A hand had clamped onto his mouth, as an arm squeezed the arteries of his neck shut. The world went gray, and Ulrich passed out.

Minutes later, Ulrich woke up. He was laying in the woods behind some bushes. His hands were bound behind him, and someone had put tape over his mouth as a gag. He squirmed about, trying to get his bearings,when he saw Odd laying next to him, bound and gagged like he was. All Odd could do was shrug, silently apologizing for not warning his friend. Squirming around more, Ulrich saw a woman kneeling a few feet away. She was wearing workout shorts and a tee shirt, with a fanny pack and what looked like a shoulder holster around her shoulders. She glanced quickly at the boys, and Ulrich recognized her as Ann Grace, one of the Marines that had started working with Jeremie and Aelita.

"Sorry 'bout that," she quietly said to the boy, "but there's too much at stake for kids to be bumbling about. I know how you feel; I want to run in there, guns blazing, and save the day too. But it's the police's job, not yours. But I promise you this, if that asshole tries killing anyone in that house, I'll make him wish his father had never been born." She then turned her attention back to the Hermitage, raising a pair of binoculars to her eyes.

O o O

"Let her down, Clark," Suzanne sternly said, "it's me you want, not her. Let her go and I'll do whatever you want me to."

"You'll do that anyway, my love," Clark Hertz said.

"No, I won't," Suzanne said, "let Emily loose, now, and let her walk out of here, now, or I will leave. You will never get the revenge you feel you need, for the police know you're here, and they will surely kill you if she's harmed. Let her go and leave here, and you can have the revenge you truly desire."

He stared at her, thinking. As he thought, Suzanne looked at the man who had turned her life upside down. Clark Hertz wasn't a tall man, only an inch taller than Suzanne was. When she first met him, he had almost black hair. But now, most of if was gone, like he had kept it shaved close normally, but hadn't cut it in a while. There was an odd bald patch on the right side of his head, about half way back, and there looked to be a massive scar in the middle of it. There was also a huge scar just under his jaw on the left side. Suzanne thought he must have gotten those after she left him, for she had never seen them before. His body was thin and gaunt, like an over tightened bow, just about ready to snap.

"Alright, Suzanne, my love, my hate," Clark finally said, "I'll let this minnow go, for I now have my whale."

With that, Clark walked over to the wall where the wire was secured. He unwound it and the tension on the wire completely disappeared. Emily collapsed to the floor and started sobbing. Suzanne quickly knelt down and carefully remove the wire from around her neck, then undid the wire binding her wrists. Small amounts of blood were trickling from where the wire had bit into her neck and wrists. Now free if the noose, Emily started crying freely. Suzanne picked her up and looked straight at her.

"Emily, listen to me! I want you to get up and run! Get back to the school, there are people waiting for you. Now, run and don't look back!"

The science teacher helped the frightened girl up and almost shoved her out the doorway. Emily stumbled, then ran for it.

Suzanne turned back to Clark. "Thank you for that, Clark. I'm yours. Whatever you want to do, whatever you think you have to do to purge your demons, do it."

Clark Hertz smiled in triumph as he advanced on his last victim.

O o O

Jim silently closed the basement door after he entered. He quietly moved about, looking for the stairs. Finding them, he made his way up to the main level. As he started up, he saw Aelita Hopper at the top of the stairs, hunched down under the wall.

"Aelita, behind you," Jim whispered.

Startled, Aelita whipped around to find him, almost screaming in surprise. Jim quickly put a finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet, then quickly joined her.

"Okay, now listen," he said to the girl, "I want you to go downstairs and out the basement door. There's an access point to the sewer system you can take and..."

He was cut off by the sound of running, then tripping. The pair cautiously looked around the corner to see Emily LeDuc sprawled out on the floor. They got up and quickly rushed over to her.

O o O

Emily ran like one pursued by the Devil himself. However she tripped and fell right at the stairway to the rest of the house. She screamed when she felt hands grip her, only to be silenced when she was turned over and she saw Jim Moralés and Aelita Hopper bending over her.

"Aelita, take Emily and get out of here!" Jim said, "the police should be here almost any instant, so you both will be safe. The pink haired girl nodded her head and helped Emily up. Jim got up and ran to the back of the house.

O o O

Taylor Thompson, Detective Michellete and the other police officers had just reached the edge of the woods across from the Hermitage when Taylor's cell phone rang.

"Thompson here," he answered.

"Grace here," was the reply.

"How sweet the sound. Sitrep."

"Well, for one thing, I've got two little lambs who wanted to be Rambo with me."

"Any problems?"

"No, they're all tied up at the moment. I think they're two of Jeremie's friends. You know, Taylor, I'm beginning to wonder just how much help that boy really needs."

Taylor chuckled. "Well, maybe it means he's starting to come around a bit..."

Ann interrupted him, "Wait, I've got movement from the target. Mrs. Hertz just entered the room... now the target is cutting the girl down... she's helping her... the girl just ran out of the room... Taylor, get the cops in here! The target is moving on Mrs. Hertz! Wait! We've got another player in motion! Shit, it's Moralés! Get the cops in there now!"

"Mitchellete, move in! It's going down!" Taylor shouted, surprise no longer needed.

The detective and his men sprinted across the street, to be greeted by two young girls running out of the house. Taylor stayed behind to assist the girls while the rest of the police ran inside.

On the other side of the house, Ann Grace saw what was unfolding. With a curse, she unholstered a handgun and sprinted to the building.

O o O

After making sure Emily was alright, Jim had Aelita get her clear of the area, then turned and ran back to where Emily had come from. He knew now that the only people back there was Suzanne and her ex-husband, so he didn't have to worry about a gang fight.

_Anybody that's not Suzanne is the target,_ Jim intoned into himself, _anybody that's not Suzanne is the target._

He reached the doorway to the family room and saw Suzanne standing there, waiting for the worst. across from her and advancing slowly was a gaunt man, her ex, he supposed. The man was holding a box cutter as he advanced.

Jim charged.

The man turned, startled, just as Jim slammed into him. He knocked the man away and managed to keep his own footing.

"That's right, you've got a man to worry about now, not some little girl or frightened woman!" he bellowed, "c'mon, let's see what you got!"

Clark jumped up, enraged now, and charged at Jim, rearing back the arm holding the box cutter to slash his opponent. He swung, clipping Jim just under his left eye, but missing otherwise. Jim countered with a massive blow to Clark's ribs, knocking his breath out and causing him to collapse.

Just as Jim was about to insure that his opponent wouldn't get up again, there was a shout of "Police! Don't Move!" and the room was filled with uniformed bodies. The police finally arrived.

Two officers immediately jumped on Clark, knocking the weapon out of his hands and cuffing him. Another officer approached Jim, telling him to back away and keep his hands in the open. Jim complied, and the officer took him and handcuffed him too.

Suzanne, in the meantime, was telling the other officers to leave Jim alone, that Clark was the one they wanted. Detective Michellete took the woman, telling her that they were restraining Jim for their protection, and everything would be okay in a moment. Once everyone was secure, the police escorted everyone out of the house.

Meanwhile, outside, Ann observed the whole scene from the window. She was prepared to kill Clark if he got any closer to Mrs. Hertz without anyone else coming in, and was relieved when she hadn't had to. She holstered her weapon and slipped back into the woods to where she had left the two boys.


	9. Chapter 9

Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

There was pandemonium in front of the Hermitage. Police cars, ambulances, news trucks were all crowded on the little street in the aftermath of the situation.

The EMTs checked Emily over, and except for some cuts was okay. She was taken to the hospital, just in case, and given a tetanus booster. Suzanne was examined, and other than fright, was okay. Jim had a small cut under his left eye where Clark had slashed him, but two stitches set that right. He laughed and said he always nicked himself there shaving, so it really didn't surprise him that someone else with a razor did the same thing.

Taylor Thompson, Ann Grace, Aelita, Ulrich and Odd melted into the woods once the circus started. The last thing the Americans wanted was any kind of publicity, especially after the incident a few weeks ago with the Ambassador's daughter, which was the catalyst that injected the two into the goings on at Kadic Academy.

"Aelita, I think you need to go and reassure a friend that you're okay," Taylor told the girl, "if those two are any indication, I'm willing to bet Jeremie is just about anywhere else other than his room."

Aelita smiled, "I think I know where he is, so I'll just go and give him the news."

"You do that, miss," Taylor replied, "and tell him we're taking a break, no more sessions this week. I think we all have had enough excitement, at least for a little while."

As Taylor was talking to Aelita, Ann regarded her two prisoners. Odd and Ulrich were still bound and gagged. They could only stand there and await her judgment.

"If I had any sense, I'd march you both just as you are to the principal's office," she began, "but I guess I won't. There was definitely more than enough stupid floating around today, and you just got caught up in it."

With that, she carefully removed the tape from their mouthes, then cut their bonds.

"Alright you two, run along now." Then, she added with a grin, "and work on your sneaking skills. A deaf rhino could have heard you two in a heavy metal concert."

O o O

Jim and Suzanne were standing by a police car, talking to Detective Michellete.

"That was a very foolish thing you did, Mr. Moralés," the detective said, "we were seconds away. You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I didn't know you were that close," Jim replied, "and I just couldn't let Suzie face that madman alone."

"You are absolutely correct," Michellete said, "Clark Hertz is a madman. It seems that several years ago, he was in a very bad accident. A steel reinforcing rod struck his head, completely penetrating it. It's a miracle he survived, but he did."

"That explains the scars," Suzanne said.

"Yes. Though physically Clark survived, mentally he did not. The accident severely injured his brain, and the result was he became insane. He blamed the accident and all the problems he had in his life on the women he knew. About a year after the accident, he escaped the institution he was in and began murdering all the women he had known, starting with his wife and children. He's wanted all over the EU on murder charges."

"He said something about having their eyes and tongues. You didn't find anything like that inside, did you," she asked.

"No, but he probably has them somewhere else. You are very fortunate, Mrs. Hertz. This could have ended very badly. I would hope that in the future you will keep your friends very close to you."

Suzanne smiled and pulled Jim into a hug. "I certainly will."

O o O

Jeremie sat at the console in the lab, waiting and worrying. It had been at least an hour and a half since he left Jim in the sewers, and no word from anyone. Was she alright? Was she dead and it was too late to do anything? The genius was torn: should he leave and go find out what was going on, running the risk of being too far away from the computer to launch a Return To The Past? Or stay here, waiting. He had thought about calling, but was afraid of distracting someone at the wrong moment, a moment of life and death.

Suddenly, Jeremie heard the elevator come to life. Someone was coming down. Was it too late? Did Aelita die and they were coming to tell him in person?

Before the elevator arrived, he caught her scent, the smell of angels. The door opened, and she stood before him, She came to him and embraced him, climbing in the seat with him. Even though they both were small, Jeremie was surprised that they both fit. He let that thought go as he lost himself in her love and relief.

O o O

The hoopla over the capture of Clark Hertz quickly faded from the public's mind. Other than fear over the kidnapping, Emily was well enough to return to school that evening. Counselors helped her through the aftermath and she quickly went back to her old self. She did make it a point to pay closer attention in Mrs. Hertz's classes from that day on, a small price to pay for her life.

Principal Delmas seriously considered canceling the Autumn Harvest Dance that year, but decided against it. He reasoned that the school needed a positive counterpoint to the trouble that had plagued the school and Mrs. Hertz recently.

The night of the dance was perfect. Aelita was working her magic on the mixing boards, and all of the students were dancing and having a great time. Emily had come with her date, and, other than some bandages, looked beautiful and carefree dancing with her boyfriend.

Jim Moralés walked around the dance, looking out for troublemakers, glad that he hadn't found any. Tonight was not a night for trouble, it was a time for merriment. Every now and then, he would sneak a look at Suzanne, across the room, talking with a student or one of the other teachers. What he wanted to do more than anything in the world at that moment was to walk over and twirl her around the floor, to complete erasing the pain of the last few weeks away.

Jim's eye was suddenly caught by the entrance of four people. He recognized them immediately, Taylor Thompson, Ann Grace, and the other two from the dossiers he received, Pyle and Coffy. Taylor and Ann walked towards him, while the other two men walked in the other direction, looking for someone. They seemed to find what they were looking for, because they stopped and kept a discrete distance from the students.

Taylor proceeded on to talk to the principal, while Ann stopped next to him.

"How's it goin', Jimbo?" she said with a smile.

"Not bad, yourself?"

"The same. Hey, the reason we're here is because Miss Wilkerson is off the reservation again. We figured since she imprinted herself on Jeremie and Aelita, she would show up here, especially since there's a party on." Ann quickly scanned the room, then nodded. "And we seem to be right, there she is over there, dancing with that nerd boy."

Jim looked over, thinking that Ann was talking about Jeremie, but Jeremie was alone. He looked more, and saw Hervé Pichon dancing with a girl he had never seen before.

"That her?" he asked as he pointed.

"Yep, that is Jeanie Wilkerson, daughter of the United States Ambassador to France," Ann replied, "and she's dead meat when she gets back home."

Jim laughed, "it's not that bad, is it?"

"Yeah, it's that bad," Ann replied, "somehow, she's sneaking out past all of the guards and security systems we have in place. And if she can sneak out, then Bad People can sneak in. When we left, the Ambassador was tearing the head of her Protective Detail a new asshole for letting this happen again. That man will be lucky if he gets to shovel elephant shit in India after this. It's a shame, too; he's really a nice guy."

Ann noticed that Taylor was now standing by Jeremie Belpois, and was waiving to her.

"Well, the boss is calling. See you 'round, Jim." And as she walked off, she turned around and added, "and don't you dare leave this dance tonight without dancing with Suzanne at least once. If you don't, I'm personally going to tear up your Man Card."

He laughed at her last remark as she left, then went back to work.

Soon, the principal announced the Last Dance of the evening. Jim said to himself, screw propriety, he was going to ask Suzanne for the last dance. He quickly found her and walked up to her.

"Mrs. Hertz, would you do me the honor of this dance?" he asked her with as much formality as he could muster.

She smiled and replied, "I would be most happy to, Mr. Moralés, I seem to have an opening in my dance card, so I think I can fit you in."

She extended her hand, and he drew her onto the dance floor.

O o O

That night, the night of the Autumn Harvest Dance, bonds were cemented that resonated down the years. Ann Grace and Taylor Thompson, Jeremie Belpois and Aelita Hopper, Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama, Odd Della Robbia and Sissi Delmas; each of these couples would leave their mark on the world, through the silent battle they waged with the great evil that was XANA. Another couple, Hervé Pichon and Jeanie Wilkerson, would affect the world in their own way, from the Seats Of Power. In later years, each couple would look back on this night as a seminal moment in their lives, one to be remembered and treasured.

There was one other couple that forged their bond that night, another couple that would look back on this night with great fondness. Though history never mentions them, neither the histories of Men nor the histories of Angels, this night was special for them, too.

O o O

Jim and Suzanne swayed to the beat of 'Color My World' with the rest of the students at Kadic Academy. But, in their eyes, no one else existed, only Jim and Suzanne. They held each other close and kissed, losing themselves in each other, the music, and the magic of the night.


End file.
